Chapter 14
Cassius
Malin was speeding. A part of me loved it. But the other part….
What was he going to do with me? I had nothing. No money. Just the slept-in clothes on my back.
And what he’d paid for me? It wasn’t flattering but more embarrassing. In fact, stomach-turning.
It was weird that neither of us said a word. Malin’s knuckles where almost blue where he clutched the steering wheel. I wondered who he called to make this final deal. I wondered if he had any money left at all. If not, what then?
I leaned back into the buttery soft seat, the seat that was like an embrace. And then I began to shake. I pressed my hands tightly together.
Malin glanced quickly at me, then back at the road. It was a cold fall day and he turned up the heat. But that wasn’t why I was shaking. I tried to control it but my entire body felt like a too-tight knot.
“Are you hungry?”
Malin’s sudden question made me jump. I had already figured out it was morning. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday. But I was in too much shock to feel hunger. So why did I nod? Food was a distraction, I told myself. Something to focus on.
“What would you like?”
“A cheeseburger.” It was my go-to craving and I didn’t have to think.
Malin took the first exit off the highway and suddenly we were in the tunnel of a drive-thru. I hadn’t had drive-thru junk food since leaving my pack over a year ago. My stomach perked up at the broiled burger scent that wafted through Malin’s open window.
Malin gave a quick order. I heard the word French fries and it was like I’d been blasted off to the moon. The ranch had us on strict diets to keep us fit and appealing. Our biggest meal of the day was breakfast.
My next thought was how was he going to pay for this if he spent all his money. Out of everything that had been going on, yes, I worried about that. Because you could be free, but in a world that was against you, options were limited. Especially if you were destitute.
I still kept asking myself if I was dreaming. Every five seconds.
After we got our food, Malin drove to a little park and stopped under a tree. He handed me a wrapped burger and a carton of fries. I already had my soda, which was in a huge cup with a lid and straw.
“Don’t get it all over my car.” He handed me a couple of napkins.
Sitting under a tree in a Lamborghini eating junk food was surreal. The food smelled wonderful, but after my first few fries and a burger bite, my stomach seemed filled with lead. My breathing grew rapid as bile edged in at the back of my throat. The edges of my vision began to darken.
“Is the food that bad?” Malin asked.
I shook my head, gasping, “I think I need some air.”
Malin hit the switch to open the door, which rose upward. I didn’t wait for it to lock into place but pushed my food and wrappers aside and jumped out. Irrationally, I hoped I didn’t get food all over the interior because he’d just asked me not to.
I moved toward the trunk of the tree and leaned my hands against the rough strength, head lowered. The world twirled about me. I couldn’t tell up from down.
A warm weight touched my shoulder. “Are you sick?”
I still couldn’t speak, but the touch grounded me.
“Take your time. Breathe through your nose slowly, out through the mouth.”
I focused on what he said, no longer trying to make sense of everything. The coldness inside began to recede. My stomach muscles relaxed and the bile taste vanished.
I straightened, my hands dropping from the tree. “I—I’m okay.”
“Take your time.”
I turned, facing his chest. Gold threads wove through his fancy vest and caught the light. I stared at them before finally looking up. “What’s going to happen to me?”
A small frown teased at his brows. “Uh, well, nothing.”
“Am I going with you?”
He glanced at his car, then back at me. “It seems so.”
“I mean… why? You don’t like sets. You said that at the party. Now what?”
He shrugged as if nothing extraordinary was going on. “Well, after I finish my cheeseburger I thought we’d go to the mall.” His nose wrinkled. “You really do need some new clothes.”
“B—but you just spent all your money.”
He laughed. “Wrong.”
I squared my shoulders. “This isn’t a joke.”
His smile dropped away. “No.”
“You hate me and we’re going to the mall?”
He nodded. “After we eat. Ready to go back to the car?”
I gulped as he moved toward the car. I went to the passenger side and got in. My food was on the seat and I picked it up. Some mustard had dripped onto the fine leather. I took a napkin and wiped it up as he got in, watching me. Shit. I’d just messed up his car. Fear prickled through me.
He turned away and grabbed his burger, taking a big bite.
No comment on the mustard? I wouldn’t die?
Mouth full, he said, “Go ahead and eat now.”
I really tried, picking at the food, taking small bites. But nerves still had me trapped in no man’s land. Nothing felt real.
When Malin finished, he gathered up the trash, including my half-eaten food, and dumped it in a nearby trashcan.
Soon, we were on the road again. I still had my drink in a cupholder but didn’t touch it.
We drove in silence for about five minutes, then Malin spoke.
“I can be a really fun guy. Let’s go have some fun at the mall.” The car accelerated faster.
I stared straight ahead. I had no words.
“Let’s try to forget the past two days. Except for playing pool and the video games. That was fun, right?”
“Yeah.” My voice was hollow.
He tapped his palms on the steering wheel. “You want to know why I did this? So do I. We’re even on that.” His chest expanded on a big breath. “My dad bought me a set omega once. I terrified him.”
“Is that the set you told me you chased?”
“That’s him. I got thrown out of the house.
That set is now my stepfather. So now you know that much about me.
Life doesn’t make sense to me. It never has since my other father died.
And I can tell it doesn’t make sense for you, either.
I don’t know why I did what I did. I don’t.
All I know is you’re here now and I still have money.
Loads of it. Let’s go buy out the stores. ”
It was the most I’d ever heard him say, even during our question-and-answer session that first night. Like a weird speech in some absurd novel or movie.
He pulled into a parking space and I followed him into a huge store. We went straight to the men’s department and he started piling up clothes for me to try on. All I could do was go with it.
If I tried on a pair of pants that were comfortable and looked good, he would say to the attendant, “One of every color.”
Same with shirts, underwear and shoes. I ended up with two warm jackets, a couple of vests, and four blazers in black, gray, dark blue and dark green.
We walked to a computer store. Inside, he said to me, “You don’t need a laptop. I have a spare that’s brand new. But this and this and this.”
The “this’s” were a digital watch that used Wi-Fi, a tablet and a phone. He bought cases for the latter two. For the watch, he dumped two pretty watchbands on the pile.
Every store we went to, he piled things up. Pillows, bedding, a couple of beautiful designer purses which he called cases. I pointed at a silver and leather bracelet in a glass case and he had the cashier add it to the pile without a word.
He insisted everything be on one-day delivery, although I got to wear one new outfit and a pair of shoes as well as the bracelet and watch.
I watched the zeroes add up at the checkouts. He spent thousands and never batted an eye.
We took a break for sodas and large pretzels. He looked at me and said, “Now, isn’t this fun? By the way, your new clothes look great.”
I wanted to thank him. The words wouldn’t come out. How would I be paying for all this later?
“What else do you need?” he asked.
I toyed with my snack. “I don’t know.”
“What do you want?”
“I stopped wanting anything years ago.”
“Well, start again.”
“I still can’t figure out why.”
“I told you I don’t know. Life doesn’t make any sense, right? Let’s just enjoy whatever we can.”
Something curdled inside me and I shocked myself at what I said next. “Do you even want me?”
His lips parted in surprise. “You’re here, right?”
“You’re being enigmatic.”
“I’m being honest.”
“I’m an omega, you’re an alpha.”
He took a sip of his drink. “True.”
“I’ll try to be good. I promise.”
“Did I ask you to be good?” he asked.
“B—but—”
“Be however you want to be. You have nowhere else to go. I’m not a normal person. Not a do-gooder. But I’m quite aware that you’ll have to come live with me now.”
“Really? Not a do-gooder? After buying me all that stuff?”
“I like it. So,” he pointed to himself. “Selfish.” He jumped up. “Let’s have some more fun. Don’t drear my world. Deal?”
“I thought I could be myself.” I walked with him to the trashcan.
“About that. If you want to gripe, do it while I’m not around.”
I watched him walk away, then hurried to catch up.